World Bank Provides Grant for Tuvaluâ€™s Renewable Energy Goals.

The World Bank has approved a $7 million grant to support Tuvaluâ€™s renewable energy and efficiency goals.

The grant will be going towards the Tuvalu Energy Sector Development Project, which will support the countryâ€™s goals of 100 percent renewable energy and 30 percent efficiency improvements by 2020.

Tuvalu E.S.D.P. will achieve this goal by reducing reliance on imported fuel for electricity generation and instead investing in renewable energy development, as well as increasing the efficiency of energy supply and use, and improving the capacity of its government and the national energy supplier â€“ the Tuvalu Energy Corporation â€“ to better manage energy delivery.

Specifically, the project will increase the proportion of renewable energy in Tuvalu Energy Corporationâ€™s electricity generation system through the supply and installation of solar and wind power infrastructure, systems to provide power grid stability and store excess energy produced.

In addition, the project will promote efficient energy use through the supply and installation of prepayment meters for the corporationâ€™s customers and smart meters for large consumers.

â€œFacilitating the delivery of efficient and renewable energy in Tuvalu will ultimately help to improve the affordability and sustainability of electricity services for households and business,â€ said Franz Drees-Gross, country director for the World Bank in Timor-Leste, Papaua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.

â€œElectricity access is intrinsically linked to better standards of education, healthcare, gender equality and poverty reduction â€“ all of which will positively impact the lives of the people of Tuvalu,â€ Mr. Drees-Gross added.

â€œCreating efficiencies in our energy use and increasing renewable sources are vital to reducing fuel imports and the cost of electricity over time. This project is building on work already underway to strengthen our energy sector, with development partners including the Governments of New Zealand, the European Union, and the U.A.E.,â€ said Hon. Vete Sakaio, Tuvaluâ€™s Minister of Public Utilities and Infrastructure.